Chapter 57 (1/2)

“What? Increase an arrow’s might by ten times!” Jiang Chengwei’s eyes glowed as he exclaimed, “Squad Leader Yan, you’re not lying?”

“Yes.” Yan Haobo nodded. He felt chills down his spine again when he recalled the damage caused by the explosive dagger. “It’s at least… Ten times or above.”

Although a huge increase in might would cause the equipment to be destroyed, an explosive piece of equipment was unquestionably more attractive to archers that faced powerful enemies.

Yu Hailiang and Jiang Chengwei looked at each other, and the surprised look on their faces was unimaginable.

Yan Haobo laughed. “Captain Yu, can you tell us now what half-spirit beast you encountered?”

“Okay, we met a brown bear this time. We’re not sure what opportunity it chanced upon in the forest, but it’s gained Mother Earth’s power.”

“Defensive power?” Yan Haobo was stunned.

He finally understood why Yu Hailiang and the others reacted the way they did earlier.

There were two kinds of Mother Earth’s power, one was an astounding defensive power, whereas the other one was a mighty power. Of course, one would have to witness the powers before evaluating the extent of those abilities.

“Yes. The Brown Earth Bear’s defensive power is extremely shocking. We went all-out when we hunted it previously, but there were only roughly four men who could really hurt it,” Yu Hailiang said seriously and shook his head with a mournful look, “We lost three of our brothers, and one of them was even a squad leader. Other than that, another squad leader is heavily injured, but I asked some men to send him away since it’s inconvenient to treat him here.”

Jiang Chengwei sighed. “Three squads from our side joined hands, yet we were defeated. Out of all the squad leaders, one died, one’s injured, and we even lost a few brothers.”

Ou Yangming looked at him strangely.

Jiang Chengwei quickly explained, “Master Ou, I didn’t escape before the fight, but I was in charge of long-range backup during the fight against the Brown Earth Bear, so I wasn’t directly involved.”

Ou Yangming was surprised. “Squad Leader Jiang, you’re an archer?”

“Yes.” Jiang Chengwei smiled bitterly. “If I had joined the encirclement, I probably wouldn’t be alive.”

Yan Haobo nodded and frowned. “Captain Yu, you returned without accomplis.h.i.+ng anything, and even lost some men. Even if my squad joins, we might not succeed.”

He had been rather excited before coming here, but had now become anxious after knowing the details of the situation.

If one of the squad leaders had been killed, and another was injured, how could he contribute by getting involved? Perhaps their overall strength might even be lower than before.

“Squad Leader Yan, don’t worry. We wouldn’t have decided on this if we haven’t found a way,” Yu Hailiang said, then nodded at someone beside him, who quickly turned around to retrieve a small earthen jar.

“After the encirclement failed, we wanted to return to seek help from the general.” Yu Hailiang took the earthen jar then opened it, revealing a layer of a black, sludge-like item. “But we came across some Bewitching Gra.s.s on our way back, so we collected and crushed it.”

“Bewitching Gra.s.s!” Yan Haobo’s eyes glowed. “That’s a great item. If it’s used appropriately, we’ll stand a chance!”

Ou Yangming craned his neck to look into the earthen jar.

He had heard of the Bewitching Gra.s.s. It was a rare herb that if crushed and smudged on arrows could produce mighty poisonous arrows.

Needless to say, the poisonous arrows could not kill someone, but if they cut someone’s body, the poison would flow into one’s blood to reach one’s brain, causing one to fall unconscious.

Nevertheless, if there was too much poison, the victim might not wake up anymore.

Jiang Chengwei smiled bitterly. “If you didn’t join us, it’ll be a fifty-fifty chance for us, but if Master Ou can really increase the arrows’ might by ten times, our success rate will increase.”

Yan Haobo was stunned. “Is that Brown Earth Bear’s defensive power that great?”

“Yes. Although the brown bear didn’t completely transform into a spirit beast, its defensive power makes it invulnerable,” Jiang Chengwei replied seriously and sighed, “Other than Captain Yu’s sword that managed to hurt it, the others can only contain it. Ah, our archers were the most useless, we couldn’t even damage the outermost layer of its skin.”

Yu Hailiang quickly comforted him, “Squad Leader Jiang, you shouldn’t blame yourself. If it didn’t fear your G.o.dly arrows, we wouldn’t have made it back.”

During that battle, Yu Hailiang and the others miscalculated the Brown Earth Bear’s strength, so on top of the failed attacks, they lost some men. Nonetheless, when the brown bear was going to chase after them, Jiang Chengwei led the archer team to shoot its eyes and the vital points below its groins. They complemented Yu Hailiang’s confrontation very well, which allowed them to carry on the fight while retreating, and they finally managed to escape.

Even after witnessing the Brown Earth Bear’s strength, Yu Hailiang and the others kept thinking about it, which meant that they were quite confident about defeating it this time.

Once the men discussed for a brief moment, they looked at Ou Yangming at the same time.

Normal arrows could definitely not hurt the Brown Earth Bear, but if the arrows’ might was increased by ten times, the effects would be completely different. Additionally, if the arrows were smudged with the Bewitching Gra.s.s, the brown bear would be in serious trouble.

Ou Yangming grinned. “Give me an arrow.”